Refugee Council’s Letter of Congratulations to Prime Minister Albanese

Read our letter to the PM

8 May 2025

Hon. Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA  ACT  2600

Dear Prime Minister,

On behalf of the Refugee Council of Australia, I would like to congratulate you on your re-election on Saturday and the strong endorsement your Government has received from the Australian people. We greatly appreciated your pledge on election night to work with the Australian people on building national unity on the foundations of fairness, equality and respect for one another. We at the Refugee Council of Australia agree that these values are at the heart of the best aspects of our nation. We are committed to working with you and others towards making Australia even fairer, more equal and more inclusive.

Since the 2022 election, your Government has undertaken important refugee policy reform. This has included increasing the Refugee and Humanitarian Program, providing permanent residency to 20,000 refugees previously restricted to temporary protection, addressing backlogs in the protection visa process, improving support for people who have fled the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, converting the community sponsorship pilot into a permanent program and launching a refugee student sponsorship pilot. We have also been pleased to see the Australian Government increase its engagement with international partners, making significant pledges at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, taking on the leadership of the Global Taskforce on Refugee Labour Mobility and co-chairing (with the Refugee Council of Australia) the 2024 Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways.

In the lead up to the election, we put forward a collective vision for the 48th Parliament, focused on building on this reform. This collective vision for the next stage of refugee policy change includes: 

• Acting on the Government’s Global Refugee Forum pledge to continue to expand the Refugee and Humanitarian Program, at a time when durable solutions for refugees are needed more than ever. 
• Implementing the Global Refugee Forum pledge to build a separate program of 10,000 complementary pathways places for refugees, through community sponsorship, skilled labour and student sponsorship. 
• Developing a principled crisis response framework to provide support when humanitarian emergencies occur. 
• Practically resolving the status of thousands of people who have sought asylum in Australia and have been in limbo for many years, ensuring that people have the right to support themselves through employment and access to a safety net while their status is resolved. 
• Providing leadership in the Asia-Pacific region on refugee protection, supporting states and civil society to improve conditions for refugees in the places where they first seek assistance and working with UNHCR and other states on greater access to durable solutions for refugees.  

Later this year, the Australian Government will issue the one millionth permanent refugee visa since the post-war resettlement program began in 1947. This is an unparalleled opportunity to recognise the contribution to Australia made by people who once were refugees. Today millions of Australians are connected to our national refugee program directly or through their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents. We hope to work with your Government in helping to celebrate this important national milestone.

We look forward to the opportunity to talk further with members of your Government about continuing the important work of reform, building on the principles and goals well-expressed in Labor’s national platform.

Yours faithfully,
Paul Power
Chief Executive Officer
Refugee Council of Australia

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